A delicious almond cake, also known as Tarta de Santiago, that originated from Spain. This cake is moist and flavored with lemon and orange zest. It's also gluten free! Oh oh oh I can't even with this cake. Easily one of my favorite desserts to make. It's not a traditional dessert that I make either. This is a Spanish Almond Cake and I learned how to make it when I visited The Social Table in Chicago with my husband's family. The Social Table is a cooking class where they show you how … [Read more...]
Chopped Salad with Sriracha Ranch
I love a good salad with a ton of healthy ingredients. It's the perfect lunch - this Chopped Salad is just that and it's dressed with Sriracha Ranch! I'm in a salad group with two of my neighbor friends. What is a salad swap group you ask? It's when you make salads for each other once a week - this is nice because twice a week (there are 3 of us) lunch is made for me! My original inspiration for this salad was an Asian inspired salad but as my friend mentioned, she didn't get much Asian … [Read more...]
Homemade Granola Bites
I am so obsessed with these easy Homemade Granola Bites. Just a few ingredients come together to make a healthy afternoon snack for kids and adults! Anyone else snack on all things crunchy, slightly sweet and covered in chocolate? These types of snacks are my thaaang. I often find snacks like this at Costco or Trader Joe's. In fact, I did find a cashew cluster from Costco that I died over - ate the whole bag. Good thing was - it inspired me to make my own snack at home. Getting to … [Read more...]
Mexican Chicken Salad
A twist on chicken salad - Mexican Chicken Salad! Same great idea but different flavors. Sweet corn, red onion, cilantro, avocado, and chicken are stirred together with fresh lime juice and a little mayonnaise to make the most delicious lunch ever! This recipe received quite a few good reviews so I had to share it with you! It was inspired by an avocado chicken salad recipe I came across but didn't didn't fully execute the way I was supposed to. I didn't love the idea of mashing up … [Read more...]
Cheesy Potatoes
When in doubt, make cheesy potatoes!! Cheesy Potatoes are a staple side dish in my family. Frozen cubed potatoes are seasoned then mixed with cheese and baked with cream until bubbly and cheesy. When you're looking for something to bring, let's say for Easter because it's around the corner, Cheesy Potatoes is your dish. My family often makes this for holiday celebrations because it's pretty much unreal. It's also a cinch to make and requires little ingredients. It can be made ahead of … [Read more...]
My favorite lemon garlic pasta with chicken and peas
My very favorite pasta that I make all the time is a lemon garlic pasta. I make it with chicken, shrimp, without protein and sometimes add vegetables like broccoli or peas. This is a family favorite and it's what I serve at our Christmas Eve dinner. It's seriously the BEST. I could go on and on about this one you guys. Pasta is hands down one of my favorite meals. With that said, I do eat pasta in moderation because I would turn into pasta if I ate it as much as I really wanted to. With … [Read more...]
Buttermilk Muffins
What to do with leftover buttermilk? Make buttermilk muffins! A sweet yet savory muffin that can be enjoyed anytime of day with any meal! Leftover buttermilk? If you bake often, you most likely have this problem. I often have leftover ingredients and sometimes they go to waste - this actually bothers me quite a bit so I try to utilize them in other simple ways without having to go out and buy a ton of other ingredients just to use, in this case, some buttermilk. So this half carton of … [Read more...]
Kid Friendly Guacamole
This post is in partnership with Produce for Kids - all opinions are 100% my own. My family loves guacamole - all kinds actually! However, my little ones prefer a more kid friendly version made with fresh mangos, corn, and tomatoes. I'm excited to share that this recipe was inspired from my partnership with Produce for Kids! During the month of March Produce For Kids has partnered with health-conscious brands, retailers commodities and dietitians to kick off its Mission for Nutrition … [Read more...]
Blueberry Bread
Blueberry Bread is like a dessert. I actually like to snack on this so I would also call this a blueberry snack bread. Tons of blueberries are folded into a thick sweet cake/bread batter and baked until golden brown. Oh this will be made again and again and again. There is something about this blueberry bread recipe that I just can't get over. It's just so easy to make and it's simple...it's tons of blueberries baked into a delicious cake/bread batter. Yes, I would also consider this a … [Read more...]
Lemon Shortbread Bars
Lemon Shortbread Bars are the perfect Spring dessert. An oatmeal shortbread dough is baked then topped with a fresh creamy lemon filling then crumbled with more shortbread dough and baked until crisp. You know there are the classic desserts out there and lemon bars are one of them. In fact, I have a lemon bar recipe on my blog and they are fantastic. However, I recently tried a lemon crumb bar from a local restaurant and I fell in love. It reminded me of a traditional lemon bar but with … [Read more...]
Nutella Banana Bread
I've been so into Nutella lately, and I had over ripe banana so here we have it. Nutella Banana Bread - a delicious banana bread that's been swirled with rich and creamy Nutella! You're gonna want to look into this one. This actually turned out better than I even expected. At first glance I was a little unsure but oh my gosh, when I tasted this! It was SO GOOD. Nutella swirled banana bread is where it's at! Nutella is eaten with a spoon on a nightly basis in my house. I just … [Read more...]
Florida Lemon Cookies {Coconut, Walnuts and White Chocolate Chips}
I call these Florida Lemon Cookies because they taste like Florida and they were inspired in Florida! These are made with fresh lemon zest and juice, coconut, white chocolate chips and walnuts - they are so darn good! We visit my parents every year in Florida. It's such a fun trip - Raya LOVES to swim and loves the beach. Nora is just 14 months so she didn't care really, but she did love the sand and surprisingly, didn't stuff her mouth with it! Anyway, we went to the clubhouse for … [Read more...]